Chevron Ties Executive Pay to Methane and Flaring Reduction Targets

Chevron plans to set greenhouse gas emissions targets and tie executive compensation and rank-and-file bonuses to the reductions, the oil major said in its latest climate report released on 7 February.

The move is a first for a US oil major and focuses on the company’s oil fields. More investors have been pressuring San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron and other big oil companies to reduce emissions that contribute to climate change.

Chevron said that, by 2023, it will reduce its methane and flaring intensity by 25–30% from 2016 levels and said the goal would be added to the scorecard that determines incentive pay for around 45,000 employees.

“It’s about the mindset and the culture of the company,” said Chevron Vice President Mark Nelson, noting that including most of its global workforce would “harness” ideas from all employees.

Chevron, though, does not address reducing the company’s full carbon footprint, said Danielle Fugere, president of investor group As You Sow, and so “will not achieve the reductions needed to stabilize the climate and reduce growing economywide, and thus portfoliowide, risk to investors.”

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